Hope For The Best
by CutesyBunny
Summary: (Set a few years before the '80s cartoon series) A few years before the Chipettes are famous, they go to a department store one Christmas Eve in hopes of finally getting a gift for Christmas. The last-minute shoppers fill the store with excitement, but can the girls be happy with their bad situation? Maybe if three certain Chipmunks have something to do with it...


_**Well… this is late but I hope you like it!**_

_**Okay, this is **_**mainly**_** derived from a story that a friend of my parents told a few weeks ago, and I just **_**had**_** to write this!**_

_**I've never written anything… Christmassy, so just bear with me if it's completely awful.**_

_**But… I've been working on it for like three weeks, so let's **_**hope**_** that's not the case!**_

_**Okay, just so you know, this is set like, a year or two before the cartoon series, so the Chipmunks and Chipettes are like, six or seven.**_

_**Anyways, hope you enjoy this!**_

_**Disclaimer: No matter how many times I ask for it for Christmas, I still don't own Alvin and the Chipmunks – they still belong to Bagdasarian Productions. In fact, I don't even really own the plot… just wrote this! xD**_

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><p>•<strong>:)•:)•:)• •:)•:)•:)•<strong>

The Chipmunks couldn't be more excited.

They had done so well during their last performance, that Dave was letting them get early Christmas presents at the store.

He may not have picked the best time to bring them, however. It was Christmas Eve; the place was a _madhouse_! Crowded by the running last-minute Christmas shoppers and tons of squealing kids, Dave was regretting having not taken the boys sooner.

He sighed, looking down at the three expectant chipmunks. "Alright fellas, try to hurry, but go on and pick out your presents."

"Okay, Dave." Simon and Theodore replied in sync, much unlike Alvin's, "Yay! Presents! Me, me, me, presents, presents!"

"Alvin…" Dave trailed off in a scolding manner, kneeling in front of the ecstatic red-capped chipmunk. "Let's not get carried away, now. You get to pick out _one_ present, and _one_ present only. It doesn't even have to be for yourself. Why, it could be a gift for another person!"

"Aw Dave…" Alvin whined with a dismissive wave of his hand. "_Come on_! Only _one_ present? Puh-_lease_!"

"_Alvin_." Dave rebuked him. "Every _year_, many people are _very_ unfortunate and poor, and are lucky to have a _roof_ over their head, much _less_ a Christmas present."

"Yeah, yeah…" Alvin rolled his eyes as his dad stood up, and went down to a hall full of toys.

Dave sighed, looking down at his other two sons. "He'll never learn, will he?"

Theodore giggled in reply.

Simon simply shrugged. "We can only hope for the best."

•**:)•:)•:)• •:)•:)•:)•**

Three _female_ chipmunks couldn't be more thankful.

They had worked especially hard the past few months, trying to not only earn enough money for clothes and food, but to also each get a small present for Christmas.

"Do you think we have enough, Brittany?"

"Of _course_ we do, Jeanette. We've been saving for _five months_." Brittany assured her younger sister as they walked down the store's aisles.

"I hope we can find something good!" Eleanor said, anxiously looking at all of the aisles. "I-I mean, _I'll_ probably just get Christmas treats, but…"

"Ellie, _why_ would you waste your share of the money on _food_?" Brittany ceased walking to look at her little sister in disbelief.

"Well, I just can't think of something else that I'd like…" Eleanor trailed off in reply.

"Ooh Ellie, come here! I think I found something for you!" Jeanette said excitedly.

"What is it?" Eleanor asked, walking over to her sister.

"Look at this book!" she said, proudly displaying said book in her hands.

It was decorated in shades of red and green, and labeled "1001 Fun Christmas Treats".

Eleanor grinned, bouncing on her heels excitedly. "Oh thanks for finding it, Jeanette!"

"You're welcome."

"Hey Jean, look over here." Brittany casually called from another aisle.

Her other two sisters moved to where she was standing.

"What is it, Brittany?"

"You like books, right?"

"I-I guess…-"

"Well I found this book…" Brittany interrupted, handing it to her. "I know you wanted something Christmassy… I don't know what's in this, but it says that it's "A Collection of Christmas Stories and Tales" so…"

Jeanette scanned the back of the book and smiled in excitement. "Oh "A Christmas Carol"'s in here!"

Brittany sighed, annoyed with her sister's failure to pay attention to her, but a fond smile formed on her face. "Yep!"

"Thank you for finding this book for me, Brittany." she said contentedly.

"You're welcome! Now, can we _please_ go to the _toy_ aisles?" Brittany asked. "I wanna find something that I can take _with_ me, but isn't ridiculous or… _childish_."

Jeanette looked down at her sister in confusion. "But, Brittany…-"

"I know, I know – we _are_ children." Brittany rolled her eyes, taking hold of her sister's arm. "Come on! You too, Ellie."

"Coming!" Eleanor chimed from behind, following a very determined Brittany and a passive Jeanette to the toy aisles.

•**:)•:)•:)• •:)•:)•:)•**

"Oh, I see the _Christmas cookies_ over there-!"

"_No_ Theodore, _don't_ waste your _money_, on _food_!" Alvin scolded his little brother.

"_Alvin_, _Dave_ said we could buy what_ever_ kind of present we _wanted_." Simon reminded him, calmly reading the back of a book that was in his hands.

"_Don't_ you _repermance_ me, _Simon_!" Alvin commanded.

"Do you mean '_reprimand_'?" Simon asked dryly, continuing to read the back of his book.

Theodore held back a giggle, covering his mouth with his hands.

"Oh _whatever_!" Alvin huffed, picking up a toy robot from one of the toy bins on the shelf. "I don't have _time_ for big, fancy words like _you_ do!" he emphasized the ending, in an attempt to insult his slightly younger brother.

"That would _explain_ your _diminutive_ vocabulary." Simon replied calmly, turning his book over, ignoring but savoring his brother's scowl. "This looks like it might be good. 'Another Collection of Christmas Stories and Tales'. Weird, seems I can't find the original one."

"Yeah yeah, good for you, ya like books." Alvin rolled his eyes, clearly bored with what his brother was saying.

Simon side glanced at his brother with narrowed eyes before examining the back of his book again.

"Ooh! I found a book too!" Theodore exclaimed, showing a book in his hands. "'100 Cool Christmas Recipes'! I mean, I-I'm not all that great a-at reading, but maybe _Dave_ can read them to me!"

"That's great, Theodore." Simon smiled at him.

Alvin rolled his eyes, muttering, "At least it's not _food_… But _books_ are _lame_…"

"Have you found something you want yet, Alvin?" Theodore asked in genuine curiosity.

"Well I _thought_ this _robot_ would be neat, but it's not automated…" he fake-gagged and set it on the shelf.

"Alvin, do you realize how r…_ridiculous_ you sound?" Simon asked, looking up from his book.

"I don't _need_ one of your 'quit being selfish' speeches, Simon." Alvin rolled his eyes.

"Okay." Simon shrugged, looking back at his book.

"Ooh! _Look_ at this guitar!" Alvin yelled, picking up a red and gold plastic toy guitar. He pressed a button. "Oh cool it lights up!"

"Wow it's _really_ shiny!" Theodore stared in awe as the guitar sparkled via LED lights.

"_Very_ impressive." Simon commented, pressing a blue button that resulted in a particularly energetic chord progression playing. "But, do you have enough money for it?"

"I don't know. It's twenty dollars, and I _have_ thirty…"

"But what about tax?" Theodore pointed out, biting into a candy cane he had had in his pocket.

"Uh…" Alvin trailed off, growing more confused by the second.

"Well, let's see… I think for each dollar you add a dime… twenty dollars times a dime…" Simon muttered to himself, putting a hand under his chin as he did the math. "Twenty-two dollars maybe?"

"Sweet, I have enough!" Alvin grinned, pressing another button on the guitar and receiving a drawn-out B-flat.

Simon rolled his eyes and looked back to his book.

"Hey!" Theodore whispered, tugging on Simon's sweater sleeve. "Look over there at those girls!"

Simon glanced up, seeing the backs of three girls. "What about them, Theodore?"

"What _about_ them? They're _chipmunks_." Alvin informed him, finally looking away from his precious guitar.

"Yeah, and _look_ at what they're wearing!" Theodore piped up.

"Theodore, that's rude." Simon looked down at his little brother, whispering in a nice-but-scolding tone.

"S-sorry… But look!"

Simon did look up as the girls turned, and his eyes widened.

From what he could see, the three female chipmunks were wearing… rags to be blunt. Their clothes weren't dirty, but had patches and looked to be very old. Their hair was unkempt, but put up.

One very short – kind of chubby – chipmunk had blonde hair put up in pigtails with bangs, and a makeshift dress that was shades of green and teal. She had a thin, dark teal sweater-jacket over her rag-dress. Another slightly taller chipmunk had auburn hair up in a high ponytail, and bangs. Her clothes were shades of pink, and she had a reddish-pink jacket over them. The last chipmunk was taller than the other two. She had dark brown hair that was in a messy bun, a purple ribbon hanging from it. She was wearing a blue sweater, and a dark blue skirt. Her bangs hung over her slightly askew pinkish-purple glasses that clashed with her outfit.

From the looks of them, he was surprised they had shoes that fit.

He shook his head slightly, suddenly full of pity.

"Simon, why are their clothes so old?" Theodore whispered.

"I… I-I _think_ they're… poor." he replied, eyes not leaving the three girls.

"Oh." was all Theodore could say, awkwardly looking down at his feet. "Well, wh-where's their mom and dad?"

"I don't know," he answered.

Alvin cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable.

Theodore walked over to Dave, who was standing at the end of the aisle, waiting for them.

"Um, Dave?" he asked shyly.

"Yes Theodore?"

"Um, th-those girls over there… are they un… u-unfortunicant?"

Dave looked over to where Theodore had pointed. "Well yes, I-I think they might _be_ unfortunate, Theodore."

"Oh. Well, c-can we do anything for them?"

"Well, i-if you wanted to give them money you could, but you might offend them."

"_Oh_, o-okay." Theodore walked back to his older brothers, who were looking at the toy guitar and the three girls respectively.

•**:)•:)•:)• •:)•:)•:)•**

"I don't get why all of the baby dolls have pink and purple clothes." Eleanor commented, a pink and purple wearing baby doll in her hands. "Where's all the green? It _is_ Christmas, right?"

"Ooh, look at this box!" Brittany squealed, a pink box in her hands.

"What about it?" Eleanor asked, peering at the box as she set the doll down.

"It's a makeup kit! And there's a _necklace_ inside!" she looked as if she was going to burst with excitement.

"Do you think you have enough money for it?" Jeanette asked, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"I hope so." Brittany replied, eying the box again.

"Well, we all only have three dollars each…" Jeanette trailed off, looking at the price sticker on the back of her book. She gaped at it, eyes widening. "_Seven dollars_?"

"You're telling me." Eleanor remarked. "How could they charge $7.50 for a recipe book as thin as my _hand_?"

"It's Christmastime, girls. People _always_ overprice things." Brittany explained, looking into the tiny mirror on the pink box.

"How would you know? We normally don't _go_ Christmas shopping." Jeanette said in confusion.

She raised her head. "I just _know_ how this stuff _works_, Jeanette."

"Uh, Brit?" Eleanor spoke, interrupting her sister.

"Yeah?" she asked, fluffing her ponytail, eyes never leaving the mirror.

"That box costs $12.99."

"WHAT?!" she practically screamed, dropping the box.

Luckily, Eleanor caught it. "Y-yeah."

"Y-you're joking…" Brittany said, eyes wide.

"She's right, Brittany." Jeanette confirmed reluctantly, as Eleanor turned the box over so Brittany could see the price.

She shook her head. "We can't ever get a break, can we?"

"Well, we could still get some peanut brittle…" Eleanor offered, picking up a box of peanut brittle. "Ooh never mind, this is 10 dollars," she said dejectedly, placing it back on the shelf.

"And to think w-we thought we could actually get presents this year…" Jeanette trailed off sadly, looking down.

"Well _that_ plan's out the window." Brittany said bitterly, shuffling her feet.

"So… what do we do now?" Eleanor asked, looking between her two older sisters.

Jeanette just shrugged. "We can only hope for the best."

•**:)•:)•:)• •:)•:)•:)•**

"I wish we could do something for those girls…" Theodore said sadly.

Simon nodded a little, deep in thought as he watched the girls converse with each other, all sad expressions on their faces as they looked at the items in their hands. For some reason, his eyes were mainly directed at the blue-clad chipmunk. All of their expressions were sad, but hers was truly pitiful to him. Her eyes were downcast, glasses slid down to the tip of her nose. Her hands were clasped tightly to the book they were holding, as if it would be ripped away from her if she held it any looser otherwise. All of this plus her lack of posture resulted in a very openly upset appearance to the girl. He caught sight of a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

Simon took a deep breath. "I-I think we should get the presents."

"What presents?" Theodore asked curiously.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Alvin followed, looking up from the guitar in his hands.

"The-the presents they want but can't a-afford. We should buy them a-and give them to them."

"Simon, that's _ridiculous_!" Alvin scoffed.

"I think it's a great idea!" Theodore smiled. A frown formed on his face quickly after, when he looked at the green-glad girl. "Th-those girls are _really_ poor."

"Let's go ask Dave if we can." Simon spoke up, a hand on Theodore's shoulder as they went over to their father.

Alvin huffed, crossing his arms as he followed them.

"Dave?" Theodore asked.

"Oh, did you find presents yet, fellas?" he asked.

"W-well, actually…" Simon trailed off, letting go of Theodore's shoulder. "We uh…"

"W-we want to buy presents for those girls… th-they don't have enough money for the presents they want." Theodore explained, clasping his hands together. "I-it was Simon's idea, but I agree with it. Th-they're really poor, a-and I feel bad for them…"

"Yeah, i-it's not right that they have to walk around in rags, a-and they don't even get a Christmas…" Simon added softly.

"Oh _look_ at you two being Mr. _Good Example_ and Mr. Goody _Two-Shoes_!" Alvin rolled his eyes.

"_Alvin_." Dave scolded.

"I'm not _trying_ to be a 'good example', Alvin. I-I feel bad for those girls." Simon informed his rude brother.

"A-and _I'm_ not a Goody Two-Shoes! A-at least I don't _think_ I am…"

"Still… this is a stupid idea." Alvin rolled his eyes.

"Alvin…" Simon said, shocked. "Christmas is supposed to be a-all about caring for o-other people… Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'It's better to give than to receive'?"

He was met with a blank stare and sighed. "N-never mind."

"Simon's right, Alvin." Theodore piped up. "It's nicer to give presents to _others_, i-instead of _getting_ presents yourself." It was pretty much the gist of what Simon had said, but he didn't know that.

Dave just stood there, speechless. He didn't know that Simon and Theodore knew the meaning of Christmas already.

"Christmas isn't about _getting_, Alvin…" Simon started.

"It's about _g-giving_." Theodore finished.

Alvin huffed, looking down at the glittery, red and gold toy guitar in his hands.

He knew his brothers were probably right, but that didn't mean he had to admit it.

Plus, why should he spend his money on people he didn't know _anyway_? There was _nothing_ wrong with him wanting the beautiful, shiny… _plastic_ guitar. Once he thought about it, he felt kind of foolish having gawked over the piece of red plastic.

He looked up and was met with the sight of the sad girls, all softly talking to each other. Alvin just stared at the three for a moment – the auburn-haired one in particular –, before sighing.

"Fine." he reluctantly spoke, putting the guitar back. "We'll get the presents."

Theodore smiled widely, as did Simon. "Yay!"

•**:)•:)•:)• •:)•:)•:)•**

Brittany sighed. "Well, we've stood here sulking long enough… We'd better get going."

The other two chipmunks nodded, carefully setting their books on the store shelf.

Brittany gave her pink box a second glance better placing it next to her sister's books. She led the way down the aisle, hoping to get out of the store fast.

What she and her sisters didn't see, were the three chipmunks in another aisle, watching them carefully as they walked away.

•**:)•:)•:)• •:)•:)•:)•**

"Ooh! I'll get the cookbook for the one that was wearing green!" Theodore offered, picking the book up from the shelf.

"I'll get the book for the one with the glasses." Simon announced, taking the book.

"I guess I'll buy the… pink box for the other one. What is this thing anyway?" Alvin asked, clearly bored as he tossed the box in his hands.

"It says it's a makeup kit." Theodore informed him, pointing at the sticker label.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm _definitely_ gonna have to wallow my pride."

"I believe that's '_swallow_ your pride', Alvin." Simon informed his older brother.

"I-_I_ knew that!" he insisted sheepishly, as the three chipmunks followed Dave to the checkout counter.

"Hey, this is the book that came before the one I was looking at earlier!" Simon realized as they were walking.

"Good for you, Simon." Alvin rolled his eyes.

Simon stuck his tongue out at his brother, who returned the gesture as Dave began speaking.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Can I help you?" The woman at the checkout counter asked.

"Y-yes, actually. Do you see those three girls over there, coming this way? Well, my boys right here, well, uh…" he whispered to her his idea.

"All right." She looked down at the three, smiling. "That is _very_ sweet of you three boys."

Just as Theodore was about to thank her, Alvin interrupted him with an arrogant, "We know."

Simon and Theodore looked at each other and groaned simultaneously, as Alvin pulled them along, following Dave.

•**:)•:)•:)• •:)•:)•:)•**

The girls started walking by the checkout counters, full of embarrassment as they looked at their feet.

It wasn't as if they weren't used to lousy Christmases… they had just hoped for at least one good one.

They passed one checkout counter in particular, and Eleanor sadly set a bottle of water and an apple on the counter – they used their present money to buy extra food instead.

The checkout woman smiled at them as she took the money, apple, and water from Eleanor. "Congratulations girls – you're my 100th customers today!"

"Great…" Brittany trailed off, not sure how that was supposed to cheer them up.

"Wait. _Because_ of this, you win these three prizes – one for each of you!"

They all looked at each other in confusion as she went behind her counter, and grabbed three bags.

She handed them the bags. They slowly took the contents out, and just stood there, gawking.

It was the books Eleanor and Jeanette had wanted, and the makeup kit Brittany had wanted.

The _exact_ same items.

"Oh you can take them – it's okay." she assured the three speechless girls with a smile.

With shaking hands they each took the gifts, and the woman handed the water and apple back to Eleanor.

They walked away slowly as the woman said, "Merry Christmas!"

"M-merry Christmas!" they said back, before talking excitedly amongst each other.

They really _did_ just have to hope for the best.

•**:)•:)•:)• •:)•:)•:)•**

Further away, the boys and Dave were watching them.

Simon and Theodore were both smiling. Alvin, however, was trying conceal _his_ grin, still determined to be indifferent to all of the joy.

"I'm _very_ proud of you boys. That was such a kind thing to do – getting presents for those girls." Dave said, smiling as he put a hand on Theodore's shoulder.

Not that he had noticed – he was too caught up in the green-clad chipmunk's pretty smile.

Simon was looking at the bespectacled girl in particular, watching as she fixed her glasses, which had gone askew from her excitement. He smiled as he started to speak. "See Alvin? Don't you feel good inside from buying that present for that girl?"

Alvin – eyes never leaving the pink-clad girl – replied with a simple "Shut up, Simon."

He finally let his smile show.

•**:)•:)•:)• •:)•:)•:)•**

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><p><em><strong>Okay so I know the words they get wrong and mispronounce are pretty obvious, but still:<strong>_

_**repermance – reprimand**_

_**unfortunicant – unfortunate**_

_**wallow – swallow**_

_**I know this was late, but I hope you liked it!**_

_**You could make the argument that in that 1981 cartoon with the harmonica Alvin was selfless, but this was more based off of the '80s TV show personalities, and I think **_**that**_** Alvin would care about **_**his**_** presents and **_**his**_** Christmas at first.**_

_**If you didn't know, in the '80s show it's made known that the Chipettes worked their way up and used to be poor so... that's why they're poor in this.**_

_**If the tax was wrong, well I don't know how tax worked in the '80s.**_

_**I know some of the hints at romance were a little random, but I couldn't have this happen without **_**something**_** like that running through their minds.**_

_**I don't know if it was obvious (probably was), but the fact that both Simon and Jeanette said "We can only hope for the best," was supposed to be a connection between the Chipmunks and Chipettes… yeah I have no idea where I was going with that. Not **_**exactly**_** pleased with the title, but I needed this to be uploaded xD**_

_**Oh, that thing with Eleanor and the baby dolls... when my mom and I were at Toys R Us a few weeks ago, most of the baby dolls wore pink and/or purple. I thought Eleanor might be offended in this case. xD**_

_**Again, I don't really write Christmassy things, (or Alvin & the Chipmunks things) so I hope it wasn't bad!**_

_**Merry (Late) Christmas!**_


End file.
